Huge Loses Lead Design/Creative Duo, Appoints MD, GCD for Atlanta

We can chalk this up to coincidence that Huge has certainly been on our radar today. Now, we’ve received word in the form of a memo from those in the know that a couple of the agency’s vets are splitting to “start something new.” From what we’ve been told, the announce was made internally today that partner/global creative director Joe Stewart (pictured) and partner/user experience Felipe Memoria, who worked out of the L.A. and NY offices, respectively, are leaving the agency after seven years.

Stewart will continue working with his crew in L.A. as he transitions out over the next month or so and the global creative team will continue to be led by Conor Brady, who joined Huge last fall. As for the UX portion, longtime Huge staffer Michal Pasternak will continue leading said department’s team out of New York.

On another note, the Brooklyn-based, IPG-owned shop has started to cement its operations in Atlanta by hiring Ant Farm co-founder/Nurun alum Michael Koziol as its managing director in the 404 while appointing Derek Fridman, a SapientNitro alum who’s spent the last year at Huge, to serve as GCD in said office. As for Stewart and Memoria, who are in the process of “fleshing out” plans for their new company, you can read their lengthy, heartfelt farewell after the jump.

When we came to Huge 7 years ago, we were a little company in Brooklyn. We’re now more than 600 people in 9 offices

around the world. Over this time it has been our great pleasure to know you as co-workers and friends. Thank you for the

Huge has always offered the best opportunities for passionate designers, strategists and developers to make a real and

large-scale change in the world. The opportunity and the ability to make the world a better place has always been – and

will continue to be – what makes Huge a great company.

What has made Huge great has always been the same: the core values the company was founded on:

The work is first.

We are all here to make something great, and all the other silly things that can happen at an agency will always take a

backseat to why we’re really here.

Be nice.

Being nice is not only the best way to get good work done, it’s also the right thing to do. We can’t stress how important this is in order to create something good.

Take chances.

There are no rules and there is no pattern or process that guarantees having a good idea. Nobody will ask you to be brilliant. You just have to take chances and go for it. The best idea will win and if your idea is good, nobody will care how you got there.

Listen.

People at Huge are the smartest people we have ever been around. Listen to the people you work with. Try out their ideas and listen to critiques about your own; let them make the work better. When smart people surround you, listening is the smartest thing you can do.

Surrender your ego.
You are going to be wrong all the time. Users will prove this to you over & over. Be ok with it.
The user has the final say.

Huge has always been anchored in truly user-centric design. This is the number one reason why Huge is different. It’s
easy to say, but hard to do. When everyone agrees, including the client, that the users have the final say, then and only
then can you make something that they will truly embrace and love.

Make friends.
We’ve met some of the best people in our lives at Huge. People we will know and love forever. There are truly amazing
people at this company, don’t just limit them to your work life.

In the end what works about Huge is that everyone has a chance to make something great. Everyone can make some-
thing that the world will see, and can make an impact on people’s lives. Our motto has always been Make Something You
Love and we’ve always meant it. It’s a standard to strive for internally with your own work, a goal for our client partners,
and ultimately we know that if you truly love something, so will everyone else. You can make an impact. You can make
people’s lives better, and Huge is designed to be an amazing place to do that.

The last 7 years have been amazing for us.

We are genuinely proud of the work and the agency we’ve created together. While our friendships will go on, it’s time for us to focus on building something new. We would like to especially thank David, Sasha, Gene & Aaron.

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